Clinton ally to debate commission: Drop Fox News moderator

A close confidant of Democratic White House nominee Hillary Clinton is calling for the Commission on Presidential Debates to remove Fox News anchor Chris Wallace from his role as a moderator.

“It is a glaring conflict of interest that [former Chairman and CEO] Roger Ailes, who resigned from Fox News in July, simultaneously provides advice to Donald Trump while serving as a paid adviser to Fox News chief Rupert Murdoch — debate moderator Chris Wallace’s boss,” David Brock wrote in a letter to the commission first reported on by Politico Friday.

{mosads}“I am disappointed that an organization that prides itself on being non-partisan would make such a selection. I would respectfully ask that you reconsider your selection of Chris Wallace — or any current Fox News employee — as a presidential debate moderator until Donald Trump and Rupert Murdoch cut ties with Roger Ailes.”

That request was rejected.

“We are pleased with our selection of moderators and confident they will do a good job,” Commission on Presidential Debates Co-Chairman Frank Fahrenkopf and Michael McCurry said in a statement on Friday.

Brock is the founder of Correct the Record and American Bridge 21st Century, a pair of super-PACs supporting Clinton’s presidential campaign.

The first presidential debate is scheduled for Sept. 26 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., and will be moderated by NBC anchor Lester Holt.

Wallace, meanwhile, is overseeing the third and final contest between Clinton and Trump at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, on Oct. 19.

Ailes resigned from Fox News in July amid multiple accusations of sexual harassment from female staff.

Reports emerged in August Ailes is informally advising Trump, the GOP nominee, for his upcoming debates with Clinton.

The debates between Trump and Clinton are expected to be among the most-watched in U.S. election history.

–This report was updated on Sept. 12 at 7:55 a.m.